Cold Water Trout Question

[shmacker]

Went fishing yesterday at an alpine lake that has been productive in the past (brookies mostly), and didn't get a single bite.  The lake was at 4000 ft, and was still frozen over about 75% of the lake.  I have read conflicting info about fishing for trout in water colder than 45 degrees and I am wondering if anyone else has an opinion of whether cold water in small lakes will keep the trout from feeding.  Any thoughts?

[DOUBLELUNG]

I've caught a lot of trout through the ice when water temperature was in the 30s.  When I was a kid, there was a water supply reservoir I used to fish in very early spring (mostly iced over except the channel), to get the brookies there to hit required getting my Mepps spinner right on the bottom with 3-4 large split shot.

If it's a spring or stream fed lake, my guess is it was just a bad day fishing.  If it's a productive lake, they may spend little time feeding as their bellies fill quickly and they metabolize food slowly.  If it's just a run-off basin with no year-round outflow, it could have winter-killed.

[Henrydog]

Trout are most active when water temps are in the mid 50's.  You can catch them in colder water and will but normally you have to slow down your presentation and give them something big to eat

[Skyvalhunter]

When we do surveys on lakes its not reliable to do just one survey and if you don't catch any fish say that the fish are non existent there. More surveys thru out the year are preferable. As fish can be more active at certain times compared to other times. I guess I would question weather or not you saw fish in the lake when you fished it. Brookies are no longer being stocked as they usually wipe out any other fish and have a tendency to over populate. So the state goes with Cutts, Rainbows or Goldens. Some of the lakes are being killed off that have Brookies in them.
    Now some of the lakes in NCNP are being poisoned to remove fish while a few are allowed to have fish in the Park. Some of these are stocked with Triploid fish so they don't naturally reproduce.

[shmacker]

Thanks for the input, all valid ideas